Replay controls : avoiding interference with HUD

[Scawen]

PLEASE READ BEFORE VOTING

OK, we have a small problem in Y19, people watching replays like to use the 2D display or "HUD" at the bottom of the screen - but it keeps disappearing when they move the mouse. This is of course done to avoid overlapping 2D elements on the screen. But we need the 2D elements to be visible when the mouse moves.

Some alternative ideas have been suggested. I'd like to hear more comments on this so without thinking too hard, I've made this poll. It's not democracy so I won't necessarily do what the poll says, this is just a guide to the popularity of the different methods and a starting point for your comments and suggestions.

[AndroidXP]

(OT:) I've now tried it again, the first time I've reported this issue must've been a weird error on my side, I probably was in some sort of shift+F mode that made things weird. The original problem was, that the controls didn't show up even after leaving the mouse still for 2 seconds, but now that I've tried it again everything seemed to work as expected.

As for what to do, I'm for the most part fine with the current implementation, but there needs to be a special case for the connection list. I guess dynamically moving it upwards when the replay controls appear would be the most intuitive way to solve the problem. So it would be like poll option #3, but not necessarily on all hud elements.

E: Though another suggestion, what about showing it on top (with any combination of showing/hiding)?

E2: Another small suggestion for general program consistency, the shift key is often used to reverse or modify the action a button does, however this doesn't work on the small replay buttons for car and camera view. Turns out they reverse their action by right-clicking which is fine by itself, but my first intuition was to shift-click them.

[duke_toaster]

Don't mind myself, but would it be possible to have an option to disable it in one of the CFG files?

[Scawen]

No, the idea is to make a good method for everyone, not to code for and support several different methods.

[eindh]

And what about shrinking the replay controls and putting them between the panels? (Note that I have a 24" widescreen monitor :shy:)

[Christopher Raemisch]

Cheers Scawen for giving us the ability to 'rewind' and jump to portions of the replay. For the CTRA this is a huge help and will improve the quality our reports, and decrease the amount of time spent on a report :thumb:

For the CTRA we need to 'find' certain drivers in a replay so the 2D displays would be best if they are always up and visible so we can quickly identify which driver is who, without waiting for the replay controls to disappear.

I also like maximizing the screenspace and personally I like the idea of the replay controls disappearing when the mouse is not moved so the HUD returns to it's original position.

[Scawen]

And what about shrinking the replay controls and putting them between the panels? (Note that I have a 24" widescreen monitor :shy:)Hmm... maybe they could behave as now when SHIFT+F is hiding the HUD, but when the HUD is displayed (default mode) the replay controls could be permanently visible, contracted to the left if the connections list / positions list are displayed, and F9 to F12 would be displayed a bit higher...

There's something I don't like about the HUD moving every time the mouse moves, the jiggling around could be quite irritating.

See how it gets complicated with all the different screen configuration possibilities? :schwitz:

[xaotik]

Can it be done that the replay controls only appear (and the HUD disappears - [or they are above the HUD in a darker transparent box of sorts]) if the mouse is near the bottom of the screen instead of whenever the mouse moves? Pretty much like most media players would behave with fullscreen video.

[eindh]

Can it be done that the replay controls only appear (and the HUD disappears - [or they are above the HUD in a darker transparent box of sorts]) if the mouse is near the bottom of the screen instead of whenever the mouse moves? Pretty much like most media players would behave with fullscreen video.


Yes, that would be nice. Make them appear over all like the video players when the mouse is on the bottom.

[dev]

What about a mix of the second and the third option? A button next to the "camera" and "player" buttons with a "always show / show on mouse move" functionality?

[flinty72]

Thanks for the opportunity to provide feedback Scawen. :)
I didn't vote for any of them as I would like to see 2 changes, they are sort of inter-related as per below.

1. Place the replay controls at the top of the screen (will only cover the FPS or Clock then.
2.Ensure the hud (f9-F12) & placing / splits table is always on.

Having the replay controls on-screen all the time or having them pop up only when the mouse is placed over is neither here nor there for me, especially if it is moved to the top of the screen which is generally in the sky.

Maybe another idea is having all the options you have proposed as a configurable item in the replay options, if in fact that can be done?

Sorry if these have already been suggested but I assume you want to determine interested numbers against each option & not just additional ideas.

[Scawen]

Can it be done that the replay controls only appear (and the HUD disappears - [or they are above the HUD in a darker transparent box of sorts]) if the mouse is near the bottom of the screen instead of whenever the mouse moves? Pretty much like most media players would behave with fullscreen video.I think that is what I meant with the 4th option in the poll.

EDIT : but you add the idea of not moving the HUD and just showing the replay controls darker...

[xaotik]

I think that is what I meant with the 4th option in the poll.

Oh - d'oh - I better vote for it then. :)

[mkinnov8]

Voted for Option Two. Option Four would have been 2nd choice, but as the bar is quite thin, it would take a precise movement to hit that (if windowed) each time. Option two just seems easier to me.

[Scawen]

Thanks for the discussions, I'm reading all and taking it in, I think we can do something reasonable. I think at this time I am starting to favour the idea of only showing the controls if the mouse is at the bottom. Probably could just make the HUD vanish in that case. Basically the same as the current system but doesn't show the replay controls when the mouse moves. One thing about this is it's an easy and safe way to do it, without any complications of moving things around.

[AndroidXP]

Just make sure the replay bar doesn't pop up when you try to click the lowest racer on the connection list then :)

[NotAnIllusion]

Combination of the above, move HUD up and show controls when mouse moves
What about permanent HUD, but controls shown only when the mouse is on the controls, instead of whenever it's moved.

[xaotik]

Just make sure the replay bar doesn't pop up when you try to click the lowest racer on the connection list then :)

The position and visibility toggling of the connection list would probably need changing anyhow. If there's no mention of it in the bug report thread, there should be - it's impossible to click the connection list currently afaik.

[NotAnIllusion]

nvm, i'm wrong :D

[Scawen]

Well, my current plan is this :

1) Draw replay controls if the mouse moves over their position - not if the mouse just moves anywhere.

2) Connection list or position list stays there if it is currently being displayed, and the replay controls are in that case contracted to the left a little to avoid overlap.

3) Other 2D elements disappear if the replay controls appear (I don't want to move them up and down because jiggling would be annoying - disappearing is less annoying - anyway they'd be visible unless you move the mouse right down to the bottom, so they wouldn't seem to keep vanishing all the time).

I don't know if this will work as I haven't investigated fully but I'm just reporting the plan as it comes to me, in case anyone wants to comment.

[Flame CZE]

It seems good for me

[SamH]

I've voted for the 4th option, but every time I re-read the list of options, I get a different impression of what they mean :shy:

Your current plan sounds good to me, though. Contracting the replay controls sounds like a good idea. :)

[NotAnIllusion]

Works for me :)

[Mille Sabords]

Your plan sounds good - waiting to test to be sure I understood what you meant though :)

[der butz]

4th option would fit quite well, the hud can be disabled when the mouse is on the control bar. You wouldn't want to look at it anyway when you're about to ffw/rw the replay.

greetz

der butz

[AndroidXP]

Sounds good - maybe after starting the replay show the replay controls for 5-10 seconds before hiding it, just so it is clear where they are located.

[flinty72]

I think the current plan will address most ppl's concerns :)

[Shotglass]

im all for the 4th option... its what youd expect a time bar to do from video players in full screen mode
and i like the idea of drawing it opaque and on top of everything as if it wasnt part of the replay

[MaKaKaZo]

Well, my current plan is this :
...
(plan)
...

Everything looks OK to me. The only thing I would add is something to announce that there are replay controls when you move the mouse to the bottom, so you just don't have to discover that feature by randomly moving the mouse - this is meant for new users. Maybe a chat message generated automatically with "drag mouse to the bottom for replay controls" or something like that.

[Shotglass]

Maybe a chat message generated automatically with "drag mouse to the bottom for replay controls" or something like that.

i like androids idea of having the controls show up for the default time it takes for them to disappear again when the replay starts (works better than having them disappear instantly whenever you move the mouse away from them ever so slightly)

maybe add a scrolling in and out effect to make it clear where they went

[JasonJ]

+1 AndroidsXP's idea will help notify ppl where the replay controls are when the replay starts and that they are available and wont need nagging chat messages etc. A picture paints 1000 words.

edit: beaten by Shotgass


This is great stuff added into LFS BTW :thumbsup:

[FL!P]

Well, my current plan is this :

Sounds perfect to me.

[Scawen]

OK, thanks for your comments and votes on this subject. We'll see how it goes in patch Y18. The current plan is basically "option 4" but without the positions / connections lists disappearing, and that got the most votes so it looks like the best thing to try.

I'll close this thread now.